Marnus Labuschagne escapes obstruction of the field dismissal before classy century in Ashes statement

Marnus Labuschagne has started the summer with a century for Queensland as he fires up his quest to return to the Test side for the Ashes series, but his return to form hasn’t come without a slice of controversy.

The Bulls skipper brought up his hundred off just 92 deliveries in the One-Day Cup clash against Victoria at Allan Border Field on Wednesday.

But it was almost all over for Labuschagne in the 23rd over when he inadvertently got in the way of a run-out chance that opened up for Victoria.

The 31-year-old was unaware that his non-striker Matthew Renshaw had taken off for a run when he defended a ball from Victorian seamer Mitchell Perry, instead occupied with making sure the ball didn’t roll back onto his stumps — which it was never in any danger of doing.

Labuschagne reached for the ball with his bat to ensure it was safely at rest, not realising Renshaw had sprinted almost all the way to his end of the pitch in search of a quick single.

But with Renshaw out of his ground by almost the length of the pitch and a free chance for a run-out at the non-striker’s end, Perry instead turned around and appealed to the umpire, protesting that Labuschagne had denied him an unobstructed run at the ball.

Umpires Riki Wessels and Donovan Koch came together to discuss the appeal, and were quickly joined by Victorian veteran Peter Handscomb who added his opinion, but eventually decided Labuschagne was not out.

“This is interesting,” former NSW and Queensland batter Ray Phillips said on commentary.

“The umpires are going to have a look at this.

“Perry ran through on his follow-through, and Renshaw called him (Labuschagne) through for the single and almost shook hands with him (he was that close).

“And Labuschagne fiddled around with the ball when Perry was going to pick the ball up and maybe turn around and shy it at the stumps.

“(Perry) was questioning the fact that Marnus was fiddling around with the ball. Tough call for the umpires there.”

Perry and the Victorians may not have been able to convince the umpires that Labuschagne had the deliberate intention of preventing a run-out but, by the letter of the law, the umpires could have been within their rights to dismiss him.

“Either batter is out obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, they use the bat or any part of their person to return the ball to any fielder,” law 37.4 states.

Phillips said it would have been a tough call to make, but that Labuschagne had overstepped the mark.

“You see Renshaw take off, now Marnus is playing hockey with it (the ball),” Phillips said of the replay.

“Therein lies the whole situation: leave the ball alone. That’s what the fieldsmen are there for.

“Let the fieldsmen come in and pick it up.”

Before the match Labuschagne said he was keen to find the ‘see ball, hit ball’ form that rocketed him to the top of the ICC Test batter rankings, a modus operandi adopted to perfection by India maestro Virender Sehwag.

“Obviously Sehwag’s method was taking the ball on and just playing it. That’s an element for me,” Labuschagne said.

“That is where I want to get to by the start of the summer, where I am so clear and confident with my technique that there is nothing else I am thinking about apart from seeing the ball, hitting it and trusting my game and everything falling into place.”

Everything did fall into place on Wednesday for the 58-Test champion, who drove the ball with precision.

His shots down the ground were majestic, including an on-drive off Will Sutherland that brought up his half-century.

In a lengthy interview with AAP, Labuschagne laid out his plans for the summer.

“My goal is to be there for the first Test. The only way you can do that is with performances on the board,” he said.

“The benefit I have is that I have done it before. I have done it for seven years, so I know my game. If I get myself back to my best I know I will be back there.”

While Labuschagne has made his mark as a No.3 batter, he is also open to partnering Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.

“I don’t care where I bat, if I have to open or bat three,” he said.

“The fact of the matter is that when you are not in the team you don’t have the luxury of choosing where you bat. That is just the nature of it. I want to play in the team.

“I can’t wait for the opportunity. If I am batting at three, I have done that before. I understand what that situation requires me to do.

“That doesn’t really concern me at all. From a domestic point of view I will be batting three, but I don’t think that makes a difference to what the selectors will do at the end of the day.”

- With AAP